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In addition to speaking at various summits over the course of CES, UnitedHealth Group is also hosting several presentations in our very own booth. The first presentation on Monday morning will be from Serge Loncar, CEO of CareSpeak Communications. Because his half-hour presentation will go quickly, we sat down with Serge before the show to learn more about the service provided by CareSpeak and hear his thoughts on future trends in the digital health space.

First, tell our readers a bit about the service provided by CareSpeak Communications?

CareSpeak has developed a medication and disease management software application that helps patients manage their health using two-way text messaging on their mobile phones. The CareSpeak system can be used in the following ways: by an individual patient to self-manage their therapies, by a pharmaceutical company to provide as a value-added service to users of their drug, by a health benefits provider to manage their plan members’ health, and by clinicians to manage their patients, and more.

The platform is modular and can be customized to different patient populations and their needs. Following are only a few examples of programs that can be managed through CareSpeak:

• Remind osteoporosis patients to take their drug once per month.
• Help type 2 diabetes patients report and track their glucose measurements. If patient reports a glucose value that is out of a safe range, an escalation alert can be sent to a caregiver (e.g. parent, spouse, etc.) to intervene.

What inspired you to found CareSpeak Communications?

CareSpeak went through three stages to get to where we are today. The company was first focused on creating a mobile phone with health-related services for the senior population. We quickly learned that devices are difficult to deal with and turned our focus to creating a software solution.

We streamlined our efforts to focus on one of the big problems in the industry: medication non-compliance. Our initial focus was to design a simple solution and generate clinical outcomes data. We did just that in partnership with Mt. Sinai Medical Center by conducting a year-long study with pediatric liver transplant patients, which yielded some excellent results published in the November 2009 issue of Pediatrics magazine.

Once the outcomes data was published, we started receiving inquiries from a variety of clinicians working across a broad spectrum of disease verticals and patient interventions. That is when we decided to build an enterprise-level disease management application that is customizable, flexible, scalable and stable. We have done that and we are now working with payers, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and hospitals on a variety of programs in different disease verticals.

What is it about texting that makes it such an effective channel for reaching individuals and their caregivers?

Texting is an affordable, scalable and reliable solution that has the ability to serve a wide range of socio-economic populations. Given the changes in our health care system, it is important to have a cost effective technology solution that is accessible to the masses.

In addition, texting is immediate. According to a Nielsen study, a text message is opened within 4 minutes vs. 48 hours for e-mail. That’s very powerful! Texting also is easy to use and fits existing consumer behavior. Since most people text, adoption is easier.

Finally, text messaging programs can be subsidized through free-to-end-user programs, where sponsors absorb the cost for users who don’t have or can’t afford text message plans.

What health trends have you seen unfold in the years you’ve been focusing on mobile technologies?

Patients and caregivers are becoming not only more educated about their or their loved ones’ conditions but also more proactive. This makes the ability to instantly access information via a mobile phone even more important. You can be in a doctor’s office and get access to information right then and there. For example, CareSpeak users can text the word “list” to our short code and the system will send them a list of all medications they are on so they can share it with their doctor.

Right now we’re hearing a lot of talk about mHealth. I think that category will soon disappear and become a part of overall digital health. Everything, if it already does not, will and should have a component that extends to your mobile device. That means that people who are working today on mobile tech have to “zoom out” and think of the bigger picture, making sure the mobile component of a service fits into the work and life patterns of the user.

As far as you can tell right now, what might be The Big Story (or two or three) that will come out of CES this year, related to health care?

We’re seeing key players not only acknowledge the opportunities in mobile health, but also take action.  Recently, there were a few acquisitions announced, and now we have large companies like UnitedHealth Group promoting partnerships with companies such as CareSpeak, LoseIt and others on a global stage like CES. I think that will set the tone for 2012 and beyond.

Do you currently use any apps or tools to help manage your health on the go?

I use CareSpeak’s medication reminders for my daily supplements and as needed with my kids if they are on some type of antibiotics or seasonal allergy medication. I also send my kids or myself sporadic motivational messages that are unrelated to health, just bits of “lift me up” messages here and there.

In terms of other solutions, I use the FitBit device and application with my iPhone. It really helps to have a tool to track your activity and see how you are doing vs. your goals.

What’s the biggest opportunity you see in the convergence of technology and health care?

The biggest opportunity is also the biggest challenge – ensuring ongoing patient engagement. It is difficult to get patients started on something new, but it’s even harder to keep them engaged and motivate them to interact with the solution(s) on an ongoing basis. This is where I think “positive and negative” incentives come into play and having dynamic and intelligent incentives will be the key to getting it right.

For example, we did a small proof of concept study with a few pediatric heart transplant patients where we gave them phones that would only work (voice and text) with the (a) hospital staff, (b) their caregivers and three friends, and (c) CareSpeak system and staff. Each week that the patient’s self-reported compliance was 80 percent or higher, we would add three more friends they could communicate with. Each week they missed the goal or didn’t show up for office or laboratory visits, we took off friends. We saw right away that we were on to something with one of the patients whose compliance was 100 percent or close to it during the three-plus month pilot. This is just one example of a simple yet effective incentive that is dynamic.

Tell our readers a bit about CareSpeak’s partnership with UnitedHealth Group?

We have a long-term strategic relationship, which means that we work very closely together to implement our solution within different UnitedHealth Group entities, learn from those programs and incorporate the learning into improved solutions, all with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. The collaborative effort to date has been excellent. There is great energy, enthusiasm and curiosity on both sides when we look at what we have accomplished and will be able to accomplish in the future. We both know we’re on to something truly game-changing.

To learn more about CareSpeak Communications’ software solution, stop by the UnitedHealth Group booth (#2833 in the North Hall) on January 10 at 10:00 a.m. Serge will be delivering a half-hour presentation, and taking your questions, in our booth.